NEW DELHI - India’s top IT companies - TCS and Wipro shelled out $ 510,000 for lobbying on issues like immigration and trade with various government agencies in the US last year. US-based Cognizant, which has close to 75 per cent of its 1.71 lakh global employee base in India, spent $ 1.37 million in 2013 in lobbying for immigration and tax-related issues, the report by non-profit organization Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) said.

Interestingly, Infosys, which has faced many visa-related issues in the U.S., did not feature in the list of the top spenders on lobbying. Azim Premji-led Wipro spent $ 440,000 on lobbyists Maguire and Melanie Carter last year for immigration-related issues, the report said. India’s largest software services firm Tata Consultancy Services, which has over 2.9 lakh employees globally, spent $ 40,000 and $ 30,000 on lobbying firms—Mercury and Mercury/Clark and Weinstock, respectively on immigration and trade-related concerns. Cognizant declined to comment on the report, while Wipro did not respond to the email query. TCS confirmed the amount but did not offer further comments.